To the readersBeing a children’s author or illustrator can be a lonely task sometimes, so we jumped at the chance to collaborate with not one but THREE classes of bright young brains to write and illustrate this book for Connswater. P5s in Euston Street, St. Joseph’s and Orangefield Primary Schools brainstormed, scribbled, coloured and designed elements of our story, from monster names to party ideas and created an amazing tribe of the coolest monsters we have ever seen. We hope you enjoy reading our story half as much as we enjoyed making it!

Máire Zepf & Tarsila Krüse

Katie was the first to spot what

happened. ‘Look!’ she shouted,

‘a monster just walked into

Connswater!’

P5 Creative writing workshop

OrangefieldPrimary School

Brett BennettNoah BishopMurray CrawfordFranklin CunninghamRyan D’ArcySkye Douglas-FisherJames EwartSam ForsytheReuben GilmoreSophie Graham Zane GreenleesHannah GuthrieLucy HunterAmelia Johnston-McCallenJacob Keatley-OwensAlfie KennedyGrace MackeyRoss McCookeKatie McCullyEthan McGarveyLucas McGookin Olivia McKenzie

St Joseph’sPrimary School

Nevin Anto Otis Arkensparr-Jones Orla BirtSadhbh BrennanAlora BuckNived ByshiCaleb CampbellMaria CollinsDarragh Conway Sophia Corr Elias Coyles Emily Cusick Tahlia Darlington-Boms Cara Fleming Thomas Gilsenan Ben Kearney Rowan McAtamney Matt McConville Ellie McCormack Aidan McCulloughLeo McDermott Rory McErlean Owen McLaughlin Aoife McMahonCara MooreKayla Oguz Yazmin Pelu-TofilauBeatrice Reynolds Julian Szulc

Euston Street Primary School

Aaron AndersonGabe BaxterAaliyah Louise BrownLilly BrownAndreea BudaceaMatthew DavidsonDestiny EzeribeAllie FergusonAmelia FlynnOliver FurmannRhys GambleKyle GloverHarvey GormanOlivia HarbinsonCamilla KobrynKevin KocikVladimir KovacAyush KumarAbbi LeeNicolas LewindowskiTJ McCannTia McConnellLucas McCordKatie Leigh McCrumCallum NichollJustin NiedbalskiJulia NowakMaryam SalmanMya SmythHolly Spence

The monster sat down on a bench and started to

cry very loudly. He cried huge monster tears that

splished and splashed puddles onto the floor.

‘What shall we do?’

said the shoppers.

‘How can we help him?’

asked the shopkeepers.

‘Excuse me….’ tried Katie in a tiny voice,

‘would you like the rest of my ice-cream?’

The monster shook his head.

‘We could read him a story!’

suggested the manager from the Works.

But the monster’s tears kept on falling.

‘A funny story will cheer him up!’

‘Maybe he’d like to dress up?’

said the man from Brand Max.

But the monster cried even harder.

Nobody knew what to do.

‘Do you think this is his size?’

‘These will put a smile on his face’

said the café owner at Relish.

But the monster howled and cried, louder than ever.

‘Who could resist my sweet treats?’

‘What shall we do?’

said the shoppers.

‘How can we help him?’

asked the shopkeepers.

The gathering crowd didn’t know what to do.

And the puddles of tears were turning into a river.

‘I have an idea!’ said Katie in her biggest voice.

‘We should throw him a monster party!’

The crowd cheered and everyone got

straight to work.

They coloured and crafted, snipped and stuck,

to make party decorations and hats.

They painted posters inviting people to come to the

party and put them up all over Belfast.

They spooned and sliced, whisked and mixed

to make the most delicious party food.

And when the monster’s tears made the bunting soggy,

they simply made more.

Meanwhile, across town, a very sad mummy monster was in for

a surprise. Hanging on a lamppost was a poster. And on the poster

was a face she knew very, very well.

‘Krankly? Is it really you?’ she cried with joy.

‘Oh my little Krankly-boos. I have searched high and low for you.

I’m coming to get you, Krankly-kins!’

Up in the C.S. Lewis Reading Corner at Connswater,

the party was in full swing. Monster-kids danced

monster-moves to monster-hits.

They devoured the party food like true monsters would.

Only the real monster sat all alone with tears in his eyes.

Katie was the first to spot who

arrived. ‘Look!’ she shouted.

‘Another monster just walked

into Connswater!’

‘There you are Krankly!’ cried Mummy Monster,

taking her son into her arms.

‘Mama!’ said Krankly

and snuggled his face into her fur.

Krankly’s monster grin reached from ear to ear.

‘Thank you, everyone’ he said.

‘Time to party!’ cried Katie.

Copyright © 2019 by Máire Zepf & Tarsila Krüse. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.